Anxiety and Arousal

Trait and state anxiety

The immense pressure an athlete faces during elite competition can challenge the athlete’s mind almost as much as the physical demands of the sport. Even as spectators and fans watch their favourite athletes and teams compete, they can feel the pressure, with increased feelings of anxiousness and nervousness, as well as increased heart rate, breathing and body temperature. However, these challenges can extend beyond the game, as the athlete may have to deal with feelings of anxiety outside of competition. If dealing with anxiety becomes a daily struggle, then athletes are as exposed to mental health disorders, such as anxiety and depression, as any other person.

Increased anxiety levels can be detrimental to the performance of all athletes. There are two categories of anxiety that athletes will need to learn to handle: state anxiety and trait anxiety. All people have unique and individual personality characteristics. Some people may carry greater levels of anxiety throughout life, over any number of daily events. For athletes with higher levels of trait anxiety, the increased pressure of elite competition can present an even greater mental obstacle to success.

The nature of competition inherently leads to increased pressure on the athlete to perform to the best of their ability. Some sports place a great deal of pressure on an athlete to perform very precise movements with only a small degree of error allowed, such as shooting and archery. In other sports, there are certain aspects where the pressure on the athlete increases, such as a free throw in basketball. Success is entirely reliant on the athlete being able to control their nerves and execute the skill accurately. In all sports, state anxiety will increase as the level of competition rises, eventually culminating in either a grand final or a gold medal match. In a situation where an athlete has to execute a single skill that they have practised for four years leading up to the Olympics, only the most controlled and focused athletes will be able to prevent state anxiety from impacting upon their performance.

Both state and trait anxiety can negatively impact upon performance. Some of the signs that athletes report when suffering from increased anxiety include:

• Feelings of "butterflies in their stomach" even to the point of vomiting

• Constant feeling of tension and being unable to relax, which may lead to higher fatigue

• Feeling twitchy prior to a game, such as uncontrollable leg shaking

• Muscles becoming tense, leading to increased errors

• Increasing amount of negative thoughts

Sources of Stress

All athletes respond to stressful situations in unique and individual ways, which are associated with their level of trait anxiety. Handling stress is a normal part of everyday life. However, experiencing excessive and long term stress can have many negative personal and performance effects on an athlete. Because of the nature of the competitive environment and professional sport, athletes must develop skills in recognising and dealing with stress. Internal sources of stress relate to a person’s personality. Some people tend to stress and worry more about everyday events, whereas others are more relaxed and calm.

External sources of stress could include threats by coaches about the negative consequences of a poor performance, or losing sponsorship, or not having a contract renewed. The fear of losing and performing in front of large crowds is another source of stress with which athletes must be able to deal. There are many strategies and techniques that an athlete can practise and utilise to help them handle the stress of a situation. These skills empower an athlete to take more control during high-pressure events.